Japan’s Miss World 2018 Contestant Is The Direct Descendant Of A Legendary 1600s Samurai Warrior

It’s August 28, 2018, the finals day of the Miss World Japan contest of 2018. And the winner is a glamorous law student, Kanako Date. She’ll now compete in the Miss World 2018 pageant in China in December 2018. But something sets Ms. Date apart from her fellow contestants. Her distant ancestor is the legendary samurai overlord, Date Masamune, known as the “One-Eyed Dragon of Oshu.”

We’ll come back to her illustrious ancestor, but for the moment let’s get to know Kanako Date better. The phrase “not just a pretty face” could have been coined specifically for Ms. Date. As well as having stunning good looks, she is obviously a woman of many talents. For a start, she can speak an astonishing variety of languages, including English, French, Italian and Korean.

Date is also a skilled archer, enjoys spending time on the ski slopes during the season and is an accomplished swimmer. Other talents include the ability to play the koto, a complex Japanese musical instrument with 13 strings, which the player plucks with the index finger, middle finger and thumb.